


Idiots Part VI

by JadeMoon



Series: Idiots [6]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Dumbasses, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hatred, Idiots in Love, Jealousy, Loneliness, Rage, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:16:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeMoon/pseuds/JadeMoon
Summary: Agent Thirteen isn't new to SHIELD, she's been with them for more than half her life. She's made every effort to NOT make friends because people suck and they stab you in the back the first chance they get. She's been quite successful until she gets stationed at the Avenger's compound. There, things start to unravel for her and she finds herself breaking her own rules. Rules she put in place to protect herself. She's caught off guard by the one and only Captain Rogers and things just spiral from there.They're both idiots. You'll see. Then we may add a third idiot, but Barnes is by far the brightest of the three.





	Idiots Part VI

Bucky sees the anger and the  _ hate _ burn in Hayley’s eyes. He knows damn well Steve didn’t request her to be here. Either she’s lying or someone set this up.

“Hayley--”

“Sir, you told me to refer to you as Captain Rogers, it would be appreciated if you showed the same courtesy and addressed me as Agent.”

Her tone is like ice. Steve steps back like she punched him. 

“Agent Stone--”

Bucky sees her grind her teeth, can almost hear it.

“I did not request for you to be here,” Steve says calmly. “Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. That has to go through Fury because of what happened,” he tries to explain. She’s not having it. 

“Where do you want me, Sir?”

“Steve, stop,” Bucky says in a low voice. “Just tell her where we need her.”

Steve gives him a look as if to say he needs her here with them. Bucky wouldn’t argue that point, but she doesn’t want to be here. Not with them.

“For now drop your gear. You’ll be sharing a tent with Widow. Two tents to the right. We’ll reconvene once the others get back.”

She nods her head and exits the tent without another word. Bucky plants his hands on the makeshift table and exhales slowly. 

“Who the fuck set this up?” Bucky asks. Steve is pacing, hands behind his head, a seething look of anger in his eyes.

“I don’t know. I didn’t request her. I’ve tried to in the past and was shut down by Hill and Fury. She’s off limits until she isn’t, is what I was told,” Steve growls. 

“Natasha? Clint?”

“Not likely.”

“He wouldn’t be so fucking stupid…” Bucky says looking at Steve.

“Yes he would,” Steve says flatly. Bucky’s going after Lannister to hurt him. Steve grabs him by the arm and yanks him back into the tent.

“That’s not how to fix this. I want to kick his ass as much as you do, maybe more, but that’s not how we’re doing this,” Steve tells him.

“How the hell do plan on handling this?”

“He wants to play hardball, let’s show him how we play hardball,” Steve says fiercely. “Natasha, I need you back at the tent ASAP,” he says into the comms.

“Almost finished. Can it wait?”

“Negative.”

“On my way.”

“Keep an eye on Hayley, Buck. If he so much as looks in her direction I want you in his line of sight.”

“Consider it done.”

“What the hell, Steve? Is that Hayley out there?” Natasha demands as she walks into the tent. 

“How do we find out who assigned the agents?”

“Fury does it, Hill sometimes--”

“That’s with us. Did you request her to be here? Or Clint?” Bucky asks.

“No. I take it this isn’t your doing either,” she says looking at Steve and then Bucky. 

“No,” Steve replies. 

“You got your wish. She’s back,” Natasha says. She doesn’t know the entire situation and Bucky realizes they’re going to have to tell her. 

“We have a situation with her,” Bucky says slowly. 

“With her and Lannister?” Natasha asks. 

“Did Clint tell you or were you spying?” Steve asks as he smooths the schematics out again.

“Both. I’ve heard rumblings that there’s some heavy hitters in the division that aren’t happy Clint was digging around. They’re throwing their weight around trying to get her pulled from duty again. Permanently.”

“They? Or Lannister?” Steve asks

“Yes,” she answers. “I didn’t request her, Clint didn’t, pretty sure this isn’t a Sam or Wanda thing. Fury knows about her and Agent Creeper. Somebody had to override it and put her in this. Give me a few minutes and I’ll see if I can get to Clint.”

She leaves and Bucky sees her walk up to Hayley. Nat’s trying to talk to her but Hayley isn’t going to break from Agent Thirteen mode. 

“This isn’t how I planned on seeing her again,” Steve says softly. 

“I was hoping she’d just show up at the compound and we could make asses out of ourselves until she gave in,” Bucky admits. “If we could have gotten her to laugh…”

Lannister and Cantel emerge from the trees.

“Agent Stone!” he yells happily. Bucky goes outside and steps right in between them.

“Excuse you, Sergeant Barnes, I need to speak with Agent Stone,” Lannister says in his sickening voice.

“Nah. You can talk to me.”

“Sergeant Barnes--”

“Is there a problem?” Steve barks coming out the tent, playing along with Bucky’s ruse. 

“Sergeant Barnes seems to want to keep Agent Stone to himself. Highly unprofessional,” Lannister states. Bucky clenches his fists in an effort to keep from pummeling this piece of shit into the dirt. 

“So is talking to a senior agent like that,” Steve tells him. “Agent Stone is here to do a job, not to socialize.”

Lannister shoots Steve a scathing look. Steve folds his arms over his chest and does that thing where he puffs himself out to make himself look bigger. Normally Bucky would laugh at him, but he’s not in the mood for anything other than beating the shit out of Lannister. 

“It’s just Agent Stone, Captain Rogers. She’s a dear friend. I’m sure we can find time to acquaint ourselves later,” Lannister says turning up the slimeball level. Bucky catches Hayley approaching.

“Go back to your tent, doll,” he tells her.

“Doll?” Lannister sneers. Bucky steps toward him and Steve holds his arm out to stop him. 

“Enough. Agent Stone, I want you and Falcon to run a secondary perimeter. See if you can spot anything from up here. Sam, go,” he orders. Sam taps Hayley on the shoulder. She gives Lannister a sinister look that he returns with a sickening smile. 

“Lannister, I need you to set up the receivers,” Steve continues.

“Cantel can do that,” Lannister replies with a shrug.

“I told you to do it.” There’s no room for argument in Steve’s tone. 

“You’re wasting your time and mine putting me to petty uses, Captain,” Lannister retorts. 

“Now,” Steve snaps.

Lannister stalks off. Cantel is about to follow when Steve stops him.

“You, I want to talk to. In my tent. Buck, make sure Lannister does what he’s supposed to.”

“Yup.”

Bucky watches as Cantel follows Steve back to the main tent. He looks scared as hell. He should be. Bucky turns his attention back to Lannister and the slippery prick is gone. 

“Motherfucker,” Bucky snarls. He looks around trying to see if he can find him. There’s no sign.

“Sam, do you have eyes on Thirteen?”

“Negative.”

Bucky’s about to flip shit when he sees Lannister reappear with a smug smile on his face. 

“Receiver is set up,  _ Sarge _ .”

“Watch your tone, boy.”

“Boy,” Lannister scoffs. “This coming from the brain dead shitbag that tried to kill his so called best friend. Or are you two more than that, Barnes?”

“I said,” Bucky growls quietly, “to watch your tone. I will not say it again.”

“Or what? I know you think you know what happened with Stone, and I promise you that you don’t know the  _ half of it _ . But you will. You’ll vanish just like she--”

His words are cut off by a raging cry and then Hayley is attacking Lannister with everything she’s got. 

Bucky tries to pull her away and gets hard elbows in the mid section knocking the air out of him. She lunges and Lannister kicks her away. She scrambles to her feet and lunges again.

“STEVE!” Bucky yells as he tries to pull her away again. He doesn’t want to hurt her, he doesn’t want to cause Hayley any pain but she’s so hellbent on going after this Lannister that she’s fighting Bucky off, too.

Steve runs from the tent followed by Cantel. Nat comes racing out and Sam shows up out of nowhere. Lannister screams when Hayley claws his face like a wildcat. 

“Sam, you and Nat and Cantel get Lannister the fuck out of here. Get him into a tent and out of her sight as soon as we pull her off of him!”

“Oh shit,” Cantel whimpers. Yeah, oh shit. 

“Hayley! Hayley! Stop!” Steve yells at her as he wraps his arms over hers. She slams her head back into his hard enough to bust open Steve’s lip and possibly break his nose. Lannister punches her so hard she drops to the ground like a sack of rocks. Bucky goes to punch him back but Hayley’s back on her feet and just punishing Lannister with a flurry of kicks and punches. 

“HAYLEY STONE!” Steve roars. She stops long enough to look at him, the fire going out in her eyes when she sees he’s bleeding. Lannister takes the opportunity to punch her in the back of the skull and she collapses. 

Bucky’s had enough. Lannister catches the hardest right hook Bucky has ever thrown and it sends the worm flying back several feet. 

“Get an extraction team. I want her out of here. I want him held and watched. He doesn’t take a piss without someone holding his leash,” Steve commands. 

Steve drops down to pick up Hayley.

“Watch her head,” Bucky warns.

“I’ve got her. Cantel, time to make yourself useful, get the medical kit. You can start talking while we’re waiting for pickup.”

“ _ Don’t you say a fucking word, Cantel!” _ Lannister screams. “ _ I own you! I own you both!” _

================================================================================

Hayley opens her eyes and scrambles to get up from wherever she is. Lannister is here and he’s...he’s…

Steve and Bucky are watching her with wary eyes. Steve has blood smeared under his nose and over his lips. Bucky has his hand over his abs. Hayley has a monster migraine.

“Are you calm?” Steve asks. His voice is gentle but there’s a definite firmness there. The Captain is present.

She looks around, trying to find a way out of the tent. They’re setting her up. Lannister planned this and now Rogers and Barnes are going to hurt her…

“Steve, drop the act. She’s terrified. Hails...Hails, look at me doll.” 

It’s a trap. She knows it. 

“Hayley, please, please calm down. We won’t hurt you. We aren’t the ones who set this up. Lannister did, we just don’t know how…”

They took her weapons. Would she really be able to shoot either one of them? Probably not. Doesn’t matter since she’s been disarmed. Can she fight her way out? Escape into the woods? The odds aren’t in her favor: two super soldiers versus regular, stupid her. 

“Hails, we know what he did. We’re trying to fix this, to make it right,” Bucky tells her. Now she’s terrified. They’ve called in a crew to take her back to the psych ward. 

“Get out you two. Bucky, help Steve clean up,” Natasha says entering the tent.

“We’re not leaving her,” Steve says defiantly. 

“You are because I asked you to, because this is going to turn into a fucking nightmare in about ten minutes. Go.”

Steve and Bucky reluctantly exit the tent. Natasha sits down on a chair, takes her weapons off and slides them away from her, well out of either woman’s reach. 

“I’m unarmed, just like you. You know we’re evenly matched. I’m not here to fight, I just want to talk.”

Another trap. They’re going to set her up just like the last time.  _ I’ve got your back. Don’t worry, we’ll make sure he gets what’s coming to him! You can count on us! _

Bullshit. She can’t count on anyone but herself. 

“Was it Cantel that stabbed you?”

“I’ve not been stabbed.”

“No, Hayley, when all the shit with Lannister went down. Was it Cantel that he sent after you? Is he the one that--”

“Extraction crew is here. They were smart enough to send two birds. Mission is scrubbed. Cap wants you and me on with Lannister--” Sam begins.

“No. They can sit with Lannister. You and I will sit with Stone.”

“You better clear that with Cap and Barnes, Nat. They’re both under the impression they’re going back with Stone.”

“Stay here with her,” she tells Sam. “I can’t trust you not to try and make a break for it, because under the circumstances that is what I would do,” Natasha says to Hayley. She exits the tent. 

“Look, don’t do anything foolish, okay? You already beat the shit out of Lannister, you damn near broke Cap’s nose--”

“Horseshit!” she snaps. That’s such utter fucking garbage. She never  _ touched _ Steve. 

Did she?

“We aren’t your enemy, Stone. I promise you, we are not your enemy. We’re trying to...help…” He trails off because Barnes, Rogers, and Romanov are bickering over who is sitting where.

“Steve and Buck have been worried sick about you. They’re stupid. They made huge mistakes--”

“Hails,” Bucky says walking into the tent followed by Steve, “you’re going to fly with Sam and Nat.”

“They will keep you safe, Hails. We’re going to secure Lannister and Cantel and take them with us,” Steve adds. They both look like they have more to say. Probably more bullshit. More lies. She’s not going to fall for it. She can’t. She’ll just agree to whatever they want to hear to stay out of the fucking psych ward now.

“Let’s go,” Natasha says from outside. “They have Lannister and Cantel on the bird now. Time for you two to get on.”

They give Hayley one last glance, their faces etched with sorrow. 

“Lannister is demanding you be cuffed for assaulting three different agents. I told him to suck a bag of dicks,” Natasha says as she gathers up her weapons from the ground. “I’m not going to cuff you or subdue you. I shouldn’t have to. I trust you not to do anything stupid, Hayley.”

Hayley says nothing. Anything she says is going to be used against her in the  _ hysteria clause _ that SHIELD likes to use. Maybe this time they’ll just throw her into a cell and forget about her. That’s the best outcome she can hope for.

She lets Romanov and Wilson lead her outside and onto the remaining bird. There’s a handful of agents below cleaning up the area, tearing things down. She watches them as they take off, only looking away when they’re well over the treetops. She stays quiet, refusing to answer any questions that Wilson or Romanov try to ask. 

Once they land she’s escorted to medical. She can hear Rogers and Barnes talking with Banner. And then she hears Lannister bitching that the “... _ cunt doesn’t know how to treat a wound"  _ and " _ he’s a very important person and she’d better learn her place.”  _

Hayley’s had enough. If they’re going to lock her away she may as well make it worth her while and rip that fucker’s tongue out. 

“No! Nope!” Sam says grabbing her arm and pulling her back towards an open room. “I need extra security in here now!”

She sees Bucky and Steve come out of a room as Natasha and Sam try to force her into one. She can hear more agents coming in and Lannister raving that he’s so very important and somebody better recognize this because he  _ knows  _ people. 

“Stay here,” Natasha orders. She and Sam exit the room. Yeah right. Stay here. The longer she has to hear Lannister the stronger the urge to gut him like a fish becomes. 

She hears him scream a string of obscenities at someone. She’s had enough. She hops off the exam table and just as she goes to open the door Bucky and Steve walk in.

“That’s not a good idea, babydoll,” Steve says softly. 

“He’s right. Trust me, I know how badly I want to beat the shit out of that guy and I can only imagine how badly you want to get at him,” Bucky states.

“Get. Out.”

She’s beyond protocol now. She doesn’t care. She knows it’s either the psych ward or a cell once this comes to an end. 

“Hails, please, please listen,” Steve begs. “I didn’t set you up. I didn’t request you. I’ve tried on other missions and Fury has shot me down because of what happened--”

“I don’t fucking care, Captain Rogers. Play your games with someone else.”

“No one is playing games, Hayley,” Bucky says, his voice straining as Lannister continues to run amok.

Steve has two black eyes and his nose and lower lip are swollen. 

“Out,” Natasha says opening the door and pointing. 

“We were talking,” Steve argues.

“No we were not, Captain Rogers,” Hayley says coldly. Bucky shakes his head and pushes Steve from the room. 

“You broke his nose.”

“Is someone going to gag that fucker or are you going to get the hell out of my way so I can shut him up myself?”

“Tempting, but I can’t. Did you hear what I said?”

“You broke somebody’s nose.”

“No,  _ you _ broke  _ Steve’s _ nose,” Natasha corrects her. “Check the back of your head if you don’t believe me.”

Hayley’s hand goes to the back of her skull before she can think about it. Her hair is sticky. When she pulls her fingers away there’s blood. 

“That’s his. You were so deep into your rage that when he and Buck tried to get you to stop you lashed out at them. Barnes got a double elbow to the abs that he’s still feeling and when Steve tried to grab you…”

Hayley doesn’t remember this. She only remembers wanting to hurt Lannister so badly he was all she could focus on, everything else was a blur.

“You don’t remember?”

“No.”

“Steve didn’t set you up. I didn’t set you up. No one on the Avenger’s set you up. Lannister called this in, threw his weight around and had you called in under the guise that Steve had requested you through him. Steve and Bucky have been trying - and failing - to get you assigned here again. Fury has shot them down each time because of what happened and because Fury thinks that if you wanted to be here you would request to come back. The two of them get their hopes up everytime new agents come through here. They look for you and when you aren’t in the mix, they fall into a slump again.”

“How is this my problem, Romanov?”

“Because I’ve heard what you’ve been doing, Stone. Hiding yourself, burying yourself in your work. Going out of your way to avoid everyone. You  _ requested _ Siberia. No one chooses that location willingly. It’s a tomb. You’re trying to bury your pain. It doesn’t work. Take my word on that.”

“What is the point here, Romanov?” Hayley snaps. 

“The point - that you clearly don’t want to see - is that you’ve been missed. No one threw you away. Mistakes were made because those two are a hot fucking mess. Things could have been handled much differently by all three of you. I’ve told Steve and I’ve told Buck not to get involved with agents. Getting involved with members of the team is another story.”

There’s a knock at the door.

“We have a bigger problem,” Sam says popping his head in. “They’re here to take Stone into custody.”

Hayley can hear Steve and Bucky fuming and yelling that no one is taking her anywhere. 

“What?” Natasha demands, getting up and going out of the room. Hayley can see there’s a small fleet of different agents milling about. 

“I want her out here now!” someone bellows. Lannister, she notices, is finally silent. Maybe he swallowed his tongue.

More yelling and arguing. Natasha and Sam are now in the mix yelling that Hayley is staying put until Fury gets back. 

The door opens and five agents draw down on her. She finds this funny since she’s unarmed. She puts her hands up.

“Off the bed! Hands behind your head! Now! Move!” 

She does as she’s told and is spun around and handcuffed. 

“If you don’t take your goddamn hands off of her right now--”

“You will stand down, Captain Rogers, or this will end just as badly for you and for your pet Barnes.”

Hayley knows that voice. The agents shove her from the room and she’s confronted by the man who led the tribunal hearing. Behind him stands a very smug looking Lannister. In the room thinking of being in a cell didn’t sound so bad. Seeing Lannister getting away with this fucking shit again changes all of that. She tries to break free and his forced to the ground. 

“The longer you resist the worse it will be,” General Stroms warns. 

“All you have to do is beg my forgiveness and this will all stop,” Lannister sneers. 

“Shut your damn mouth,” Stroms snaps. “Not another goddamn word from you!”

“They can’t do anything,” Lannister says jovially. Stroms looks like he’s about to strike Lannister. 

“I beg to differ!”

“Shit just got real,” she hears Sam say. 

“Who the hell are you and why are you holding one of my agents hostage?” Fury demands as he enters the medical area. Agents move out of his way, clearing a direct path to Stroms. 

“This isn’t an Avengers matter, Director Fury. This is something that will be handled by a tribunal--”

“Oh I’ve seen how your tribunal handles things, Stroms. It’s a fucking disaster. How many women have you dismissed, imprisoned, or sent to the nuthouse because one of your men decided they couldn’t control themselves? Like your little pet monkey Lannister. I have no less than forty counts of other female agents who have testified under oath that he’s accosted them in some way. Let’s not overlook what he’s done to my Agent Stone. Get her off the floor and get those cuffs off of her now!”

“She doesn’t fall under Avenger’s jurisdiction,” Stroms argues. Lannister is pale to the point he looks like he may faint.

Steve and Bucky push Strom’s agents away and lift Hayley gently to her feet. Her hands are freed and Lannister tries to slink away. 

“Where the hell are you going, bright boy?” Fury yells. “Get him,” he says to Steve and Bucky. Lannister shrieks and tries to run but is stopped by Strom’s agents and then roughly apprehended by Steve and Bucky. 

“She isn’t an Avenger!” Stroms fumes. 

“Really?” Fury laughs. “She’s been on our roster since she completed her first mission with Black Widow. I want General Stroms and Agent Cantel taken into custody as well.”

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS!” Stroms roars. Fury looks slightly amused.

“The hell I can’t. You let this sick piece of shit assault an agent, you or Lannister sent Cantel to silence her, you tampered with evidence to cover up what happened, you sent her to a goddamn psychiatric ward where she was forced to lie and say nothing happened AFTER she was given ECT and had a seizure that damn near killed her! Tell me again I can’t do this, motherfucker! Get them the fuck out of here,” Fury says waving away a sputtering Stroms and a whimpering Lannister with them. 

“As for you,” he says turning on Hayley, “you’re my problem now. I find out you three are fighting and I’ll call in someone who can beat all three of your asses with one hand behind her back. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Sir,” Barnes, Hayley, and Steve reply. Fury glares at them.

“And Agent Stone, I want a full write up of everything that happened with Lannister. From start to finish. It will become part of the official record. Find a way to get your gear.”

He strolls out with the swarm of agents following him. 

Sam, Natasha, Bucky, Steve, Hayley, Bruce and the medical staff are all standing around in silence. You could hear a pin drop. 

“I think that’s enough excitement for everyone,” Bruce says carefully, “why don’t you all get some rest. Alone.”

“Your quarters are still open,” Natasha tells her. Hayley is so numb right now she can’t speak. She does the only thing she can do--she walks away. 

================================================================================

Steve watches as Hayley walks away without saying a word. He and Bucky try to go after her, but Natasha stops them.

“Give her some space. Give her some time,” Natasha advises. “Think of all the shit she just went through. The last thing she’s going to want is you two trying to smother her in apologies and whatever else you two have planned.”

“Don’t do it,” Sam warns when they try to ignore Nat’s advice. “She’s right. You want to piss that hellcat off even more? Somebody’s gonna come down here carrying their severed dick.”

“Okay, no severed body parts, please,” Bruce pleads. “Just...go relax everyone.”

Steve groans and rubs his temples. 

“Trust me on this,” Natasha says as they head away from medical, “give her some time to sort this out on her own. When and if she’s ready she’ll come to you.”

“How do you know?” Steve asks. “How can you be so goddamn sure?”

“I’m not. I’m making an educated guess. You think banging on her door and professing your feelings to someone who was in a blood rage to the point she doesn’t remember hurting you is a good idea?”

“She was going to kill him,” Bucky mutters, rubbing the tender spot on his abs and ribs where she’d gotten him. 

“If you two hadn’t been there she probably would have. She should thank you for stopping her. Right now, though, just leave her alone, okay?”

Steve grunts out an okay and Bucky just sighs. Everyone heads to their own quarters. 

Steve cleans himself up and then stands in front of the bathroom mirror looking at his black eyes. His whole face hurts. He saw stars when she bashed her head into his face. She was so wild and out of control...all that anger directed at Lannister. Years of pent up frustration, rage, and humiliation finally boiled over. He isn’t mad that she lashed out at him. He just wishes she would talk to him. Maybe Natasha is right. Maybe he and Bucky shouldn’t gang up on her. Maybe they should do this individually so she’s not overwhelmed.

He thinks about what else Natasha said, that Hayley needs time to cool off. He touches his lip and winces. He doesn’t want to piss Hayley off any more than she already is. He wants to be able to talk to her--actually talk to her--which means he has to let her drop the Agent Thirteen armor. He just doesn’t know how long that will take. 

Steve gets dressed and heads down to the common kitchen. Nobody is around. Wanda and Vision must still be out. Sam is probably on a date. Natasha is most likely filling Clint in on what happened. Bucky is either in the gym or watching YouTube videos on  _ smart tech _ . 

Steve grabs a muffin and tries to watch TV in the sitting room. Nothing catches his attention. He feels like he needs fresh air. Not that he can breathe through his nose right now…

He goes outside to the courtyard. The sun is starting to set leaving the sky a deep orange in its wake. He walks until he gets to the bench he had found Hayley on the one day. She’s not out here and he doesn’t hide the disappointing whimper that escapes him. Did he really think she would be out here? His face is throbbing so much it’s making his eyes water. He’s sure his nose and lip have ballooned out in a ridiculous fashion. He needs ice and he won’t find that out here.

================================================================================

Hayley is walking back down the path when she sees Steve get up and lumber back towards the building. Even in the fading sunlight she can see his face is swollen and bruised. She did that. She doesn’t remember doing it but the proof was in her hair.

She follows him inside, staying back far enough that he won’t detect her. She doesn’t want a confrontation. She doesn’t want to fight. All the energy she’s expended trying to make herself into an unfeeling machine has exhausted her. All this bullshit with Lannister has exhausted her. And all the shit that happened between her and Steve and Buck has just about broken her. 

She watches as he heads to the common kitchen. He gets a large cup and starts pulling ice cubes from the freezer. 

“You should try frozen peas,” she offers. She spooks him so badly Steve drops the cup and the ice goes skating all over the floor. 

“H-Hayley,” he stammers. When he turns around she sees how badly she hurt him. His face is completely swollen to the point his eyes are almost swollen shut. He’s bruised. His lip is busted. Jesus Christ how the fuck hard did she hit him?

“I’ll get them. Just sit down,” she says as she stoops down to gather up the ice cubes. She dumps them in the sink and rinses out the cup. 

He hasn’t said anything, he’s just leaning against the counter watching her. His face is so badly bruised and swollen. All because of her.

“Steve…” She doesn’t know what else to say. She reaches out and touches his face as gently as she can. He chokes back a quiet sob and pulls her into his arms. 

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” he repeats over and over. She can feel his body temperature rising the more worked up he gets. She can’t leave him like this. She can’t just walk away from him. 

“Shh,” she whispers, putting her arms around him. “You’re not going to be able to see if you don’t calm down, Steve.”

His embrace tightens.

“I’m s-sorry,” he stammers into her neck. “I’m so-so sorry.”

“Shhh...let me see if they have something in the freezer to help with the swelling.”

He slowly lets her go, but keeps her hand in his like he’s afraid she’ll run off without him. She walks him over to the freezer and is not surprised that it’s filled with a variety of ice creams and nothing else. 

“Do you have anything in your freezer upstairs like frozen peas?”

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “Hayley…”

“Stop, Steve. Let’s worry about getting you back upstairs and finding something to help the swelling.”

He squeezes her hand and lets Hayley lead him back to the elevators. 

She remembers that Bucky cooks. Maybe he has something. 

“Does Bucky have anything? Do you know?”

“I’d have to ask.” 

He sounds like he’s congested, like he’s got one hellacious cold because of his nose. His broken nose that she caused...she’s never going to forgive herself for this. 

Steve leans against the wall and tries to breathe through his nose. He can’t. It sounds horrible.

“You’re going to have to be a mouth breather for a while, Steve. I didn’t mean to hurt you--”

“You didn’t know it was me. You only saw Lannister.” 

His words come out sounding more like  _ ew bibn’d doe id wab be. Ew obly saw Labbider. _

It doesn’t make her feel any goddamn better. He reaches blindly for her other hand as the elevator takes its sweet Jesus time going up. 

He’s about to say something when the elevator doors open and Bucky jumps, startled to see them.

“Hails--Jesus Christ, Steve!” he yelps when he sees Steve’s face. 

“He needs like a bag of frozen peas, something that can be spread around and is light,” Hayley says quickly. “Do you have anything, Bucky?”

“No, but I’ll go to the store right now and get some. How many bags?”

“Two. Nothing more than a couple of ounces,” she tells him. 

“Yeah, okay, doll. Are you going to stay with him?”

Steve’s focus has never left her. She knows he’s waiting for an answer and she knows what answer he wants her to give.

“Yeah.”

“His place? Yours?”

“Mine,” Steve mumbles. 

“Oh god, kid,” Bucky groans. “Get him situated. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

They trade places in the elevator, Bucky going in and and Steve and Hayley coming out. Steve keeps his hand in hers as they walk back to his quarters. He can barely see to enter the code to unlock the door.

“Sit down. I’ll go get you some pillows,” she says, leading him to the couch. He refuses to let go of her hand. 

“Hayley...please let me apologize--”

“I don’t want to deal with that right now, Steve,” she says pulling free from him and heading back to his room. He’s got clothes everywhere. The stealth suit is in a crumpled heap on the floor next to his shield. The bed is a wreck, it looks like he’s done nothing but toss and turn, the pillows are balled up or smashed into the headboard, the sheets are hanging off the bed, the blanket is mostly on the floor.

She grabs two of his pillows and tries her best to shake them back into shape as she walks back to the living room. Steve is wringing his hands nervously. 

“You’re going to need to lie down,” she tells him. 

“Hayley, please...let me--”

“Stop,” she says cutting him off. He slumps further into the couch. She owes him for hurting him like this. She never meant to and apologizing isn’t enough. 

She sits down and puts the pillows on her lap. He’s still able to see and he looks at her with a mix of hope and fear. 

“Come here,” she says patting the pillow. There’s the softest whimper that escapes his lips and then he moves into position so he’s on his back looking up at her. He’s breathing hard, harder than he should be even with a damaged nose. She lightly brushes his hair back from his brow.

“I need to say this to you. Please just listen--”

“Steve--”

“Hayley, stop. I’m sorry. I made a mistake. I was so blinded by my own jealousy...Bucky isn’t at fault, he only did what he did because he was afraid of making things worse with me. You saved him and I owe you so much, Hails. Don’t be mad at Buck. It’s my fault,” he says as quickly as he can. “I didn’t know how to tell you how I felt.”

The last part is spoken as a confession. Hayley chooses not to feed into it. There’s been so much shit flying around and she’s not in the mood to read into anything right now. 

“Don’t blame Bucky.”

“Stop.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you to hate me--”

“If I hated you do you really think I’d be here right now?”

“You haven’t called me babe,” he replies as if this is an actual defense to her question. 

“Sergeant Barnes is at the door,” FRIDAY announces, saving Hayley from having to respond to Steve’s statement. “Shall I let him in?”

“Yes,” Steve tells her. Bucky walks in and his eyes get big when he sees Steve and Hayley.

“So this is how you fall asleep all the time?” Bucky says. It’s a taunt. Steve returns the taunt by flipping Bucky off. 

“Is this what you were asking for, doll?” Bucky questions. He shows her a small bag of frozen peas. 

“Perfect,” she tells him as she takes. “Can you grab one of his kitchen towels for me?”

“Yup.”

“Slide down so he has a place to sit, Hails,” Steve says quietly. He’s already shifting down and she follows so there’s now a place for Bucky to sit next to her. 

Bucky comes back with the towel and hands it to her.

“I put the other two in his freezer so if you need to rotate them out you can,” Bucky tells her. 

“Good thinking,” she says draping the towel over Steve’s eyes and nose and then placing the peas over top of the towel. “Is that okay? Does it hurt?”

“No. It’s okay, babydoll. Thank you,” he mumbles. 

“Thank Bucky for going to the store.”

“Thank you for going to the store. Sit down,” Steve says. “She made room for you.”

Bucky looks at her in surprise.

“It was a joint effort,” she tells him. Steve grunts. Bucky looks scared suddenly. 

“I’m not...I’m just going to go unless you need something else,” he says taking a step back. Steve pulls the makeshift cold compress from his eyes and he gives Bucky a look Hayley can’t decipher. 

“I told her it wasn’t your fault--”

“I shouldn’t have ignored you, doll. I just...I had to make a choice…”

He chose his best friend and Hayley can’t blame him for that. 

“Stop. Both of you. You put that thing back on your face or I’m leaving,” she warns Steve. He immediately puts the towel over his eyes and the peas on top again. 

“We’re both sorry, doll,” Bucky says softly. “You saved my life. He saved my life and I--”

“You chose the one you were closest to,” she interjects. “Please stop. I won’t ask again. I don’t want to deal with this right now. That doesn’t mean you have to leave, Bucky.”

“I don’t want to interrupt you two.”

“He’s going to fall asleep. I’m sure he told you that’s what he does,” Hayley says, smacking Steve’s hand away from taking hers. He whines a little and she can see a smile trying to form on Bucky’s lips. 

“I didn’t believe him. Falling asleep next to a dish like you should be impossible.”

“Here we fucking go,” Steve grumbles. “Sit down, for gods’ sake.”

Bucky still hesitates. 

“Hails, I…”

“Did you call me a dish?” she asks. Steve is chuckling. Bucky is blushing, but you can barely see it under his beard. 

“I did. I’m so-’’

“I’m banning either of you from using that fucking word in my presence tonight.”

Bucky’s lips pucker and Steve sighs heavily. 

“If you want to stay then stay, Bucky. If you want to go, that’s up to you,” she says in a more mellow tone. He considers it for a moment and then squeezes in next to her. The couch isn’t big enough like this and Bucky is crammed against the arm of the chair while trying to give Hayley more room.

“Steve, can we slide down a little more. Bucky’s squished,” she says. He flops down a little more so now his knees are on the arm of the couch just about and his legs are dangling over the edge. Bucky moves just a bit so he’s not as cramped. There’s a little room left over between she and Bucky now. She slides closer to Bucky making Steve fuss. He slides up and nestles back into the pillows on her lap. Hayley fixes the towel and the peas and then puts her hand on his chest. He puts his hand over hers, pressing it down over his heart. Bucky turns on the TV.

“What do you want to watch?” he asks. 

“Something mindnumbling stupid,” she replies. Both men laugh a little. 

“She likes monster movies,” Steve offers. 

“Yeah? I thought you liked James Cagney films,” Bucky says, trying to joke a little. She smiles tiredly. 

“I like both.”

“You won’t find a combination like that on film, doll,” Bucky says as he pulls up the channel guide. 

“Put on that sci fi channel,” Steve tells him. 

“Take a nap,” Bucky retorts. 

“Jerk.”

“Punk.”

“Boys.”

Steve laces their fingers together and shifts a little to get comfortable. 

“How’s the ice pack working?” she asks him. “Do you feel it?”

“I do. I don’t know if it’s doing anything yet.”

“Did you take anything for the swelling?” Bucky asks. Steve shakes his head no. 

“Where’s your kit?” he asks. 

“Bedroom in the closet. Don’t worry about it--”

“See what he has. Mine has ibuprofen if he doesn’t have any. I can get it. That’s going to be the best thing I think,” Hayley says to Bucky. 

“Yeah,” Bucky agrees as he slips away from Hayley’s side and off the couch. He heads back to Steve’s room. 

“He likes you.”

“You two are so fucking...he said the same thing in the goddamn hunting cabin about you.”

Steve moves the towel so he can look up at her.

“He did?”

“Yeah. He said you like me because I’m nice. He was also very feverish at the time.”

Steve smiles. 

“I heard he had a fever dream that caused an episode.”

She sees Bucky walking out with a bottle of pills.

“How much do you remember from the hunting cabin?” she asks him. Bucky is reading the label on the pills and glances up at her. 

“Like what? You cleaning my gun?”

Steve tenses and she runs her fingers through his hair.

“It’s not a goddamn metaphor, Steven. I literally cleaned his weapon because he took a bath with it in the pond,” she says with just a bit of sarcasm to her tone.

“Sor--”

“What did I tell you?” she asks, jabbing her finger into his shoulder. He squirms and grunts at her. 

“My bad.”

“And he yells at me for hanging around the Parker kid,” Bucky mutters. “What do you want to drink?”

“Scotch.”

“I’m going to hurt him, Buck. Again. I swear to Christ,” Hayley grumbles. Steve is laughing and it has the wondrous effect of making her feel better. Bucky is grinning and shaking his head. 

“You get what you deserve for antagonizing her, kid. And no, you’re not having Scotch.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that Scotch.”

“What did you tell me it tasted like?” Hayley asks Bucky. “Boiled underwear?”

Bucky bursts out laughing. Steve pulls the ice pack from his eyes and tries to glare at him but he can’t. 

“Jerks,” Steve mutters putting the ice pack over his eyes again. 

“You want some water?” she asks. 

“Sure,” he huffs. Bucky heads to the kitchen.

“You want anything, doll?” he calls back to her. 

“Water is fine.”

“I bought vodka and Frangelico and Amaretto, babydoll,” Steve says pulling the ice pack down again. “You told me you liked those. Buck can fix you a drink if you want.”

She’s dumbfounded by this. He remembered her saying she likes those liquors and he bought them for her. 

“Not right now, Steve,” she says putting the ice pack over his eyes again. “Thank you, though.”

She can see his lips turn up into a smile. 

“You’re welcome.”

She runs her fingers through his hair and he moans softly. 

Bucky comes out with two water bottles and a bottle of Mt. Dew for himself. He pops open the pills and shakes out a couple for Steve. 

“Sit up, kid.”

Steve pushes himself up and holds out his hand. Bucky dumps the pills into Steve’s palm, waits for him to pop them in his mouth and then hands him the water bottle. Steve downs half of it before he stops. 

“The frozen peas are helping,” Bucky says looking over Steve. “Swelling’s gone down some. The bruising is starting to change finally. Looks like another couple of hours it should be gone, Steve.”

He puts his hand on the back of Steve’s head and scratches quickly. Hayley is touched to see this. It’s something she’s seen in the movies, a loving gesture from a big brother to his little brother when the little one was hurt. It makes her smile. It makes her feel...good almost.

Steve lays back down and Hayley can clearly see what Bucky was referring to. The serum is hard at work.

“Buck, can you switch these out? Please?” she asks, referring to the bag of peas. He nods. 

“You look impressed? Or amused. I’m not sure,” Steve says still looking up at her. She brushes his hair back and his eyes close for a moment.

“Impressed. I saw how quick the gunshot wound on Bucky healed and now seeing this,” she says touching his lip lightly, “it’s definitely impressive.” 

He smiles against her fingers.

“Have either of you had anything to eat today?” Bucky asks as he comes back into the room. He hands Hayley the peas and then sits down next to her again. Hayley shakes her head no. She fixes the ice pack and pats Steve’s chest. He puts his hand over hers again.

“I haven’t,” Steve mumbles.

“I’m starving,” Bucky admits. “What sounds good? I can run out and get it if need be.”

“Sammies,” Steve says and gives Hayley’s hand a squeeze.

“Fucking dork,” she mutters. Bucky laughs. 

“I see he hasn’t pulled the wool over your eyes with his bullshit charm,” Bucky says. Steve flips him off again. 

“He’s a dork. Aren’t you?”

“Sure.”

“Sandwiches sound good. He tried ordering from Jerry’s for us once but then I had to go play intel scraping with Maria and never got to have my sammie,” Hayley tells Bucky. 

“Order from Jerry’s, Buck. Do the disco fries. She wanted to try those.”

Bucky gets up and pulls his phone from his pocket. She’s surprised it fits given how tight his jeans look.

“Where’s the menu?”

“Desk. Top drawer on the left,” Steve tells him. Hayley continues to play with Steve’s hair and she can feel him settling deeper into the pillows. 

“I’ve missed this. I’ve missed you,” he whispers. If he knew how much she missed him he’d probably run for the hills. Bucky, too.

Bucky hands her the menu and sits down again. 

“Get your french dip, babydoll,” Steve suggests. “I’m getting the pastrami on rye with mustard.”

“What are you getting, Buck?” she asks. 

“Hot meatloaf sandwich with fries probably. Maybe the ruben. Actually, I think I’ll do the ruben. Ever have one, doll?”

“Once. It sucked.”

“Jerry’s is good. You can try mine,” Bucky offers. “French dip for you?”

She nods. Bucky calls and places the order. Steve starts to giggle.

“What is wrong with you?” she whispers as Bucky talks on the phone. 

“You laughing while I tried to order the last time.”

“That was your own fault,” she reminds him. “You started it.”

“How?” he demands, pulling the ice pack down from his eyes. 

“Are you serious?” she asks. 

“I didn’t start it,” he argues and pulls the ice pack back up. 

“What’s he denying now?” Bucky asks. “Should be here in about forty-five minutes.”

“Starting shit when he tried to order food the last time,” Hayley tells him.

“I wasn’t the one cracking up laughing,” Steve persists. 

“Such a liar,” she says poking him in the ribs. He squirms a little and grins. 

“What’d he do?”

“Don’t you dare, Hails.”

“Smartass here--”

“Goddammit,” Steve gripes. Hayley has to fight to keep from laughing. 

“Smartass here,” she continues, “tried telling me that I wasn’t allowed to pay the next time we ordered food together.”

“And she told me she wouldn’t hang out with me anymore if I didn’t let her pay so I told her that was bullshit.”

“Except when he tried to say it the guy at Jerry’s answered the phone and Steve did a complete one-eighty in his tone and I started to laugh.”

Bucky is grinning, just eating this up.

“Not only did she laugh, Buck, she wouldn’t fucking stop and just kept going. I was laying on her chest and bouncing while she’s laughing. I start laughing and I can’t give the guy the goddamn order because the more she laughs, the more I bounce, the harder I laugh.”

“I’m sorry I missed this spectacle,” Bucky says. 

“I get off the phone and call her a goddamn brat--”

Hayley cracks up laughing remembering what happened that day. 

“And she starts laughing like that.”

“It’s your fault,” she insists as she rubs her eyes. 

“He’s an antagonistic shit,” Bucky agrees.

“The hell with you both,” Steve grumbles. Hayley runs her fingers through his hair and he goes back to smiling. 

“Tell me about the episode in the cabin,” Steve says after a moment. 

“This should be good,” Bucky quips. 

“I told you about the fever dream you had,” she reminds Bucky. He chuckles. Steve pulls the ice pack from his eyes again. 

“Stop,” she says pulling it back up. She rubs his chest a little to keep him from pulling it down again.

“Tell me,” Steve nearly pleads. 

“I got Bucky to go to sleep again after he woke up dreaming the first time. I was at the window and I hear the futon creaking. I look over and there’s Bucky in all his glory muttering in a combination of Russian and English that he had to stop you.”

“Stop me from what?” Steve asks.

“Take your pick, Steve,” Bucky replies. 

“You know what--”

“Stop, boys,” she says intervening. “Quit picking on him,” she says slapping Bucky’s leg. 

“Ha!” Steve laughs. She slaps Steve's chest. 

“Anyway,” she continues, “Bucky’s trying to escape the cabin because he insists he has to save you from telling the Army you’re from Paramus.”

Steve laughs. 

“Remember that, Steve? That night we went to the Pavilion and I found that forged card on you?” Bucky asks.

“Yeah. That was right after you butted into that fight I was having with that jerk.”

“Right. Because you had him on the ropes.”

“I did.”

“Okay, kid,” Bucky says with a small laugh. Steve growls at him. Hayley’s overly amused by this. It’s like a whole different world with the two of them. 

“Why Paramus?” she asks.

“He ran out of cities in New York,” Bucky jokes. 

“It was the only one I could come up with at the time,” Steve admits. 

“That’s illegal, Steven Rogers,” she jests. He shrugs. 

“Still got in. That’s the day I met Erskine.”

“And that was the last time I saw the little shit. The next time I saw him he looked like this and I thought I was hallucinating,” Bucky tells her. 

“He said  _ I thought you were smaller _ .”

“You  _ were _ smaller the last time I saw you, punk.”

“So I was right,” Hayley says, trying really hard not to laugh at what she’s about to say.

“About what, doll?” Bucky asks.

“You two do argue a lot. And you said you weren’t an old married couple.”

“For fucks’ sake,” Bucky groans. Hayley laughs. Steve holds her hand over his heart again. 

“Steve,  _ Prometheus _ is on again,” she tells him. He grunts at her. 

“It was so bad. See if AMC has anything on or TCM, Buck.”

Bucky flips and stops on the Discovery Channel. 

“Mythbusters?” Hayley questions. 

“I like this show. They do some crazy shit,” Bucky tells her. “They do a lot of stuff from TV and movies to see if it’s legit.”

He’s almost giddy about telling her about this show. She’s heard of it, but never seen it. There’s an element of excitement in Bucky’s voice. 

“So let’s watch it,” she says. He grins and puts the remote down. 

“The two older guys are in charge. The ginger is Adam and the one with the funky moustache is Jaime,” Bucky explains. She hears Steve sigh softly. She knows that sound. He’s starting to nod off. 

They watch in silence for a few minutes and she sees Bucky glance over at Steve.

“He’s out.”

“I know,” she says quietly. 

“He really likes that, doesn’t he? You playing with his hair?”

“He says he does. It relaxes him to the point he dozes off.”

“How are you holding up, Hayley?” 

The question stuns her. Somebody is asking about her. And even though she’s nestled in between these two, even though this feels right, she can’t help but go on the defensive. Nothing is ever as it seems.    
================================================================================

Bucky waits for an answer from Hayley, but it never comes. Instead his phone starts going off. It’s Jerry’s letting him know the delivery guy is in the lobby. 

“I’ll be right back, doll,” he says sliding off the couch. “Get sleeping beauty up, will you?” 

She gives him a smile just before he closes the door. 

He grabs the food and on his way back up, he can’t help but wonder if Hayley understands or realizes that he and Steve have feelings for her. They’ve been able to make her laugh and they sort of apologized. Not really, not like Bucky had wanted to and he’s sure it’s not how Steve had intended to. 

Bucky’s been aching to put his arm around her, but he’s scared she’ll reject him. She seems content to have Steve where he is. Is that because she feels bad for hurting him? If his face was still intact would she even be there? 

The elevator doors open and Bucky takes several deep breaths to stave off the panic attack that’s building inside him. He can’t read Hayley. He’s not sure Steve can, either. 

He knocks on the door and hears Steve order FRIDAY to unlock it for him. The lock clicks and Bucky is able to push the door open. Hayley gets up and helps him with the bags even though he didn’t need help. 

“You look a hell of a lot better, kid,” Bucky says putting his bag on the coffee table. Hayley puts the other bag down next to it. 

“It doesn’t hurt as much.”

“He sounds better, too,” Hayley says. Steve gives her a flirty grin. She doesn’t acknowledge it. The swelling has gone down, he sounds better, and the bruising is starting to fade, and Bucky is thinking that she’s only here because she feels guilty for hurting Steve so badly. Once he’s healed she’s probably going to go back into hiding. 

He really wishes she wouldn’t.

They eat, Hayley opting to sit on the floor in front of the coffee table leaving Steve and Bucky on the couch, dismayed that she’s not sitting next to them. 

He glances at Steve as he balls up his sandwich paper. Steve sees him looking and they both glance at Hayley. She’s finishing up and she looks uneasy now. Shit.

“Come sit back on the couch, Hails,” Steve tells her. She shakes her head no. 

“Are you feeling better?” she asks Steve. Bucky hopes Steve says no. Prays Steve can see what’s going on and says no.

“Yeah. The pea pack helped,” he says making a joke. She smiles faintly and then stands up. She cleans up her mess and takes the trash to the kitchen without a word. 

“She’s going to leave,” Bucky says in a hushed voice.

“No. Why?” Steve asks. 

She comes back out and gives them that weak smile again. 

“I’m going to go--”

“Hails, no. Don’t leave,” Steve pleads. “Stay and just relax with us.”

“We don’t want you to leave, Hails,” Bucky adds. Her lips twitch. 

“Hayley, we need to talk about what happened,” Steve says getting up. “We need to...can we fix this? I don’t want to fight, babydoll. Bucky and I...we think we can work this out--”

“I need time, guys,” she cuts him off. “You have Sharon and Bucky can get anyone he wants. I don’t…” she laughs nervously, “I don’t know what to do right now. I don’t want to get involved with anyone--friendship, relationship, whatever. I need to figure out where I belong.”

“Hayley,” Bucky says getting up, “you don’t have to be afraid anymore, sugar.”

“We’re here for you, Hayley,” Steve says softly. Hayley nods once and then promptly leaves Steve’s quarters. 

Both men drop down onto the couch at the same time. 

“What happened?” Steve asks. 

“You healed. She knows you’re going to be alright, and she left. She felt guilty for hurting you like she did.”

“She hurt you.”

“Not like you, Steve. I don’t have the bruising you do. I was just sore. She probably has a knot on the back of her head the size of Minnesota from hitting you and then getting clocked by that scumsucking Lannister.” 

Just thinking about that piece of shit fills Bucky with rage. 

“She thinks we’re going to hurt her again,” Steve sighs. 

“Did you say anything to her while I was at the store?” Bucky asks. 

“I told her not to blame you. That if anyone was to blame and at fault it was me. I told her I was jealous and that I should have told her how I felt.”

Bucky sits back in the couch. 

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. She didn’t acknowledge that at all, Buck. And I don’t know what the hell that means,” Steve says looking at him. 

“I don’t know, Steve,” Bucky replies as he shakes his head, “I don’t know. She’s asking for time to figure things out.”

“She doesn’t think I’m dating Sharon, does she?”

“That’s the least of our worries, Steve.”

Steve huffs out a tired laugh. 

“What do we do? How do we convince Hayley she’s welcome here and that she’s wanted.”

“Give her what she asked for. Time,” Bucky responds, “and hope that she can see past this bullshit.”

===============================================================================

Hayley sits in her quarters crying. Her soul hurts. Her heart hurts. Every fucking thing hurts. And why? Because she can’t avoid Steve and now Bucky. She can’t put up that fucking barrier like she’s done so many times in the past. She can’t ignore them, only acknowledging their presence when on a mission. She can’t do anything she would normally do. Why? Why is this so fucking hard? 

Steve has Sharon to hang all over him, what the fuck does he need her for? And Bucky looks like an Armenian god. Both men are too fucking handsome for their own good. They don’t need to be hanging around with the likes of her--friend or…

“That will never happen,” she says out loud. “You heard that wrong.”

Steve telling her he should have told her how he felt. No. She’s reading way too far into that. Waaaay too far.

And what the fuck is Bucky doing? Seriously? This...no. No. No. No. 

Hayley drags herself from the couch and heads to the shower. She’s seeing things that aren’t there. Things she must stupidly be wishing for on some subconscious level. 

Even if Lannister wasn’t right about no one wanting her, even if a fraction of what that fucker said wasn't true, people like Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes don’t need someone like her in their lives. 


End file.
